


Tentative Truce

by Nanna_Jemima



Series: Bridging the Gaps - MCU One-Shots [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), how it should have ended
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 17:38:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18428891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanna_Jemima/pseuds/Nanna_Jemima
Summary: Cap went so far outside of what his principles would normally allow for. It would take his best friend to set him straight. My alternative vision of the ending to Civil War.





	Tentative Truce

His shoulder hurt. He blinked and slowly regained his bearings. What was the mission? He shook his head. No mission. Just his friend. His friend, Steve, who was... oh shit. He was grateful to Steve for everything he had risked to help him. But there had to be limits. Had to be. He wasn't worth this. He got his feet under him again. He had to stop his friend from doing something he could never come back from. It was enough that one of them was that far gone. He launched himself towards the two struggling combattants.

* * *

Tony was tiring fast. Scratch that. He was beyond tired and was currently scrambling for nonexistent reserves. The rage in Cap's eyes, the grief. It all mirrored his own feelings. He clamped down on that realisation. That was for later. Steve raised the shield. Tony didn't need advanced trajectory calculations to tell he was aiming for his throat. Cap's words barely registered, but he managed to answer anyway. There would be no later.

The shield hit him on the forehead with a dull clonk. It took him... he couldn't tell how long to realise it hadn't been the edge, and he wasn't dead. And it definitely hadn't hit him with the strength he'd seen Cap about to wield. Speaking of... the weight of the heavy fighter was no longer holding him down. What had happened? The quiet suddenly became less quiet and everything had an echo about 12 seconds long. He counted. His hearing was returning. Oh joy, a concussion, just what he needed. He turned his head left, careful not to pull or jostle anything. Against one of the concrete columns was Cap; leaning, seated. Straddling him was the damned Winter Soldier with his remaining forearm leaning heavily across Cap's collarbone. If that son-of-a-bitch had turned again, he would have to help Cap. Even if he hated the idea right now.

Tony struggled into a sitting position as quietly as he could and tried to power up the repulsors. Nothing. Shit. He'd have to just ram into the assassin and make sure Cap got to his shield. And then hope he could keep it together long enough to not get killed.

“... your friend, too, Steve! He said so. Even if you didn't listen.” Wait, that didn't sound like an assassin bent on murder. Tony halted his efforts at moving.

“But he tried to kill you!” Cap protested. Rage and indignation loud and clear in his voice.

“Because I killed his parents! Can you blame him? Really?” Tony was not expecting to hear that kind of grief in that voice. He tried to ignore it.

“Bucky, that wasn't you! You didn't do that...”

“Dammit, Steve, we've had this discussion already!” Oh had they now? Tony would have liked to have been privy to that talk. Everyone was talking to each other about his parents' murder, but not to him. The assassin lowered his voice before he continued. “I told you before: Whether or not it was my decision, I still did it. And I remember it. All of it. I'm not having you throw away your friends for someone like me. I'm not worth that.”

Finally something on which Tony could agree with the dangerous man. His snigger came out a little louder than he'd intended. Oops. Wild, grey eyes focused on him as the Soldier, Barnes, whatever, twisted his torso to the left, clearly forgetting he had no metal arm to defend against any shots coming his way. Tony avoided those eyes. Looked instead at the naked, twisted wires of the busted shoulder joint. There was blood seeping out between them. He couldn't tell if the man had even noticed.

“When you kids are done bonding, you think we could finish this?” He knew he had no hope of getting out alive if they picked up where they left off. Maybe that was for the best.

Barnes, the Soldier, the Asset looked at him. Inscrutable. Tilted his head slightly. Tony finally met his eyes, mustering up as much mental strength as he could. Bravado was **his** game. Or it had been, at least. They stared each other down.

“Buck?” Cap's voice broke the hypnotic hold. The splitsecond before Barnes turned away to look at Cap, Tony saw it; the weariness. The bone-deep weariness he knew so well.

“I'm not Bucky, Steve.” The dark-haired assassin said quietly as he shoved himself off Cap's legs. He sat down heavily on the floor. Not far from Steve, but not quite next to him either. Tony used the opportunity to shuffle up against a wall, he wasn't sure he could hold himself up without help.

The one-armed man sighed and spoke again: “Bucky died in '44. I'm not the man you remember. That man is gone.”

“But Buck...” Cap's voice trailed off in defeat. Tony was fairly sure he had to be dead at this point. Seeing Captain America back down was definitely a first.

Pepper had always harrangued him about being responsible. He had lost her over being the exact opposite. He had spiraled further. Agreeing to the Sokovia Accords was his attempt at righting the ship. And now there was another mess he would attempt to clean up. He had to. He owed everyone to at least try.

* * *

Steve looked back and forth between Bucky and Tony. Bucky was staring at the floor. Maybe it was true. Maybe Bucky really was gone, but Steve had seen those eyes before. He remembered all too well the men he had freed in Azzano. They had all had eyes like that; eyes that had lost all hope, all will to live. What he hadn't expected to see was Tony having the exact same look in his eyes. Sure, the man was covering it up with weak snarkiness, but it was there, the despair.

Bucky had looked like that after Azzano, but he had also recovered. He had regained his sense of humour and his confidence, though it had taken a while. He had played a key role with the Howling Commandoes as they took out every Hydra base they could find. Steve knew there was a way out of the despair. Bucky had found it before. Steve was confident he could find it again. His old friend was nothing if not strong.

“Truce?” He asked quietly of the two other men. Both nodded in response.

“You're both wanted men,” Tony stated in neutral tones. “You have anywhere to go?”

Bucky looked to him, Steve knew. “I, uhhh... I haven't thought that far ahead. Yet.”

Tony scoffed and curled a lip in a slight sneer. “Well, colour me surprised.” He was anything but. That much was obvious. “Tell you what. I'll send a message to some select people. The Compound will probably be the first place they look for you. But all things considered, once I return there no one's gonna expect you to be there.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bucky's head jerk up to look at Tony.

“What?” Both of them asked in unison.

Only Steve continued, completely taken aback. “You're inviting us back? After all of this?”

Tony shrugged, causing creaking noises to arise from his battered suit. “Friday? Do we have power enough to call home?”

“No boss, but we might be able to reach the nearest cell phone tower in a very short burst and relay a message.”

Tony shook his head. “No good. This isn't a message we need anyone picking up.”

“They won't be able to break my encryption, boss. Keep it short.”

Tony frowned and fell silent. Steve turned back to look at Bucky again. His friend was still staring at the man who'd tried to kill him moments before. It rankled. Not that Tony had relented, but that Bucky didn't seem to have a problem with having been attacked like that. Bucky noticed him looking and promptly looked down again. He said nothing.

“Friday.”

“Yes boss?”

“The message is as follows: I will attempt to clear up the mess we made. Any of the rogue Avengers who seek amnesty are welcome in our Compound **in all secrecy**. If they arrive, they are to remain there incognito and do absolutely nothing until I have returned and figured out how to solve this. If they want to solve things themselves, they do it from elsewhere and do not come near the Compound.”

“Got it, boss. Who do I relay it to?”

Tony was quiet for a bit and then spoke again. “Fury, Hill, Hogan, Wilson, Barton, Romanoff, Maximoff, Vision, Lang, Rhodes.”

“Got it, boss. Relaying message now.”

Tony grunted. Steve couldn't tell if he was in pain or whether it was just an affirmative. Maybe both.

“You two should be on your way.”

Bucky immediately got to his feet swaying a little and backed towards the nearest exit.

“What about you?” Steve didn't know how Tony had gotten here in the first place.

“What about me? I'd like to be alone. If that's okay with you, Rogers.”

He was about to object, Tony was just being belligerent, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Bucky looking at him. “Steve, it's his choice.” Peggy's admonishment, when she consoled him about Bucky's death all those years ago flashed through his mind. He'd turned those words back on her, when he crashed the Valkyrie. Now Bucky was turning them on him. Reluctantly he nodded his assent.

“Should we send you a ride?” He desperately wanted to do something.

“I'll call one when I'm good and ready,” Tony said dismissively and Bucky squeezed his shoulder ever more insistent.

“Okay, we'll... we'll wait until we receive word you're back in the Compound before we show up. I figure the two of us will be the... your biggest problem.” He hoped Tony would understand what he was really trying to say, and then he let Bucky's pull on his shoulder guide him in the direction of the exit. He couldn't blame him for wanting to be out of there.

All the greater was his surprise, when, just before they turned away, it was Bucky who said: “Thanks, Stark.” His tone was as bleak as the Siberian landscape awaiting them outside. Once again Steve saw the two of them look at each other with those hollow eyes as Bucky continued. “I won't forget this.” Tony just nodded in acknowledgement and proceeded to ignore them as they finally turned to leave.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I have a few ideas floating around for potential follow-ups. If anybody's interested I might write them. Do enable my procrastination while I'm supposed to be working on my thesis.


End file.
